Shawna Forde's defense attorneys continued to go over the horrendous details of her childhood this morning.
Here are some tidbits jurors were told this morning, either from mitigation expert Margaret DiFrank or through a videotaped interview she conducted with Forde's mother, Rena Caudle:
Forde lived with a couple named the Breitghams from the time she was five until she was 12, the longest she'd stayed with anyone at that point.
Caudle says she gave Forde to the couple because the elders in her church recommended she give her up when she went to them with some disturbing stories.
Caudle told DiFrank when she gave birth to her namesake, Forde was somewhere between three and four-years-old. She said she thinks Forde was jealous of baby Rena because she would smear her own feces on walls and bite the baby.
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The final straw was when she caught Forde holding a pillow over the baby's face, Caudle said.
She was terrified Forde would kill the baby, Caudle said. The church elders told her since she hadn't had Forde very long (she'd already been bounced around between several other households), it would be best if she gave her up.
DiFrank testified court records indicate that Caudle must've had a change of heart because she sued to get Forde back, only to lose. It was during this court battle that Forde's biological father gave up his parental rights.
The mitigation expert also testified that within six months of Forde moving in with the Breitghams, her new dad, Jeep Breitgham, started molesting Forde.
Forde told her Jeep Breitgham paid her to perform oral sex on him, but when she got old enough she would go to the cemetery after school instead of home because it was peaceful there, DiFrank said.
The Breitghams dropped Forde off on the doorstep of a children's home in 1979 when she was 12, DiFrank said.
The jury hasn't been told why yet.
Jeep Breitgham is now dead and his wife refuses to discuss the allegations, DiFrank said.
Jurors saw a short video of Pat Breitgham and she said she still loves Forde and would like to re-establish contact with her.
Due to the scheduling issues, Forde's defense attorneys are interrupting DiFrank's testimony to put James Sullivan, a forensic neuro-psychologist, on the stand this afternoon.
